New to Site...concerned about shedding

[LadyByrd]

Hello everyone, I am a somewhat new ball python owner. I just got my little girl on November 24th. When I rescued her, I got her from a person who had no clue how to take care of a snake and never bothered to research to find out. Her humidity in her former enclosure was way too low as demonstrated by the fact that when we rescued her, she was shedding, but it looked like confetti. Also, her former owner only kept her daytime temps at around 80 degrees on the hot side and 60 on the cold side. She was also malnourished as the previous owner was feeding her 1 small mouse every 3 to 4 weeks despite the fact that she is about 3-3.5 feet long and 3-4inches in diameter.

Now, we now keep her in an enclosure with humidity levels between 30 and 60 percent (we are still working on getting them to stabilize without having to spray constantly) and it is regularly 90-95 on the hot side of her cage during the day and about 70-75 degrees on the cold side. She eats a large mouse every week and does it eagerly. So, here is my question. It has been 2 months and she has still not shed. When should she shed again? What should I be looking for? Is there a point where I should simply take her to the vet and get it addressed? Thanks in advance for any advice.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Welcome to the site!

I wouldn't worry too much about the lack of shedding. A BP will shed when it needs to. Have you been tracking the weight if your snake? A BP really only needs to shed when it outgrows it's old one, so if the snake hasn't grown significantly then there is no need for a shed.

Signs of an upcoming shed include:

1. Pink belly
2. Dulling colors
3. Bluish tint
4. Increased aggression

[LadyByrd]

Thank you so much. I had never thought about tracking the weight of Matilda. I will definitely start doing that .

[Capt.Britain]

Sounds exactly like the position I was in just over a month ago.
Malnourished, dry, cold snake with tons of leftover shed.

Tracking weight is more important than length. You could have a nice 4 foot gal, but if you don't know how much she weighs, you won't know whether or not to give her more food or just how healthy she is. Try weighing her every time you feed her. Plop her on that scale (in a box so her doesn't get away) just before you feed her and write it down. That way you can track how much weight she's gaining as she recovers. Tracking sheds might also be a good idea, to help you predict when she'll shed again.

Unfortunately, you should also keep an eye out for respiratory infections because it was so cold in her previous tanks.